CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Mount St. Joseph University football team continued its impressive offensive run on Saturday afternoon, cruising to a 49-16 victory over Manchester University in front of the Homecoming crowd at Schueler Field. With the win, the Lions improved to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play.
The Mount's offense was firing on all cylinders once again, piling up 566 yards of total offense, including 459 through the air. Senior quarterback Jaxon Schreiber continued his outstanding season, completing 23 of his 28 pass attempts for 378 yards and six touchdowns. His favorite target was once again Eli Aston, who turned in a monster performance with eight receptions for 199 yards and four touchdowns.
The Lions wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, taking their opening possession 65 yards in seven plays. Schreiber connected with Keymari Pittman for a 38-yard touchdown to give the Mount an early 7-0 advantage. After forcing another Manchester punt, the Lions struck quickly again, this time with Schreiber finding Aston for a 54-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 14-0.
The Mount's defense then came up with another big play, intercepting a Manchester pass to set the offense up with excellent field position. Schreiber capitalized, finding Michael Hunkus for a three-yard touchdown pass to give the Lions a commanding 21-0 lead with 5:06 remaining in the opening quarter.
Manchester finally got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter with a 15-yard field goal, but the Lions answered with another pair of touchdown drives. First, Schreiber capped off an 11-play, 77-yard march with a five-yard touchdown pass to Aston. Just over four minutes later, the duo connected again, this time from 31 yards out, sending the Mount into the halftime break with a commanding 35-3 advantage.
The Lions picked up right where they left off to begin the second half. On their opening possession of the third quarter, Schreiber found Aston for a 59-yard touchdown, their fourth scoring connection of the afternoon. The touchdown extended the Mount's advantage to 42-3 and capped off an outstanding day for both players.
Manchester would answer with a three-yard rushing touchdown midway through the third quarter, cutting the deficit to 42-9.
With the game well in hand, the Lions turned to their reserves in the fourth quarter. Sophomore quarterback Gavin Connor continued the offensive success, leading a six-play, 94-yard touchdown drive. Connor connected with Antonio Williams from 15 yards out for the score, pushing the Mount's lead to 49-9. Manchester added a touchdown in the closing seconds to bring the final score to 49-16.
Offensively, Aston's four-touchdown performance highlighted another explosive afternoon for the Lions. Along with Aston's 199 receiving yards, Pittman hauled in four passes for 76 yards and a touchdown, while Hunkus added five catches for 63 yards and a score. Connor finished with 76 passing yards and a touchdown in relief of Schreiber.
Defensively, the Lions forced three interceptions and held the Spartans to just 130 passing yards. Brady Blevins, DJ Summers and Jayden Shckleford each recorded an interception for the Mount. Mason Morris and Dillon Pierce led the defense with seven tackles apiece, while Anthony Young and Jason Oprisek each added six stops.
The Lions finished the afternoon with 27 first downs and averaged an impressive 9.1 yards per offensive play. The Mount also converted six of its nine third-down opportunities and scored touchdowns on all three of its red-zone trips.
UP NEXT: The Lions will look to carry their momentum into the final stretch of the HCAC schedule as they continue their pursuit of a conference championship.
